Case Study: Reinventing a Public High School with Problem-Based Learning

After being awarded an Investing in Innovation (I3) grant from the Department of Education, Sammamish High School, a public school near Seattle, is transforming from traditional delivery of instruction to a completely problem-based learning curriculum. Keep up to date with Edutopia's coverage as we follow along the five-year process.

Sammamish High School's Transformation

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  VIDEO: Building the Foundation to Transform a Public High School to PBL

  Follow the journey of the teachers, administrators, and students in year one of their school's transformation.





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  Re-Imagining the Comprehensive High School, by Adrienne Curtis Dickinson

  High school teacher Adrienne Curtis Dickinson launches Sammamish High School's blog series about the seven key elements for integrating PBL across disciplines, grades and courses.

Reinventing a Public High School with Problem-Based Learning: The Seven Key Elements

Don't miss the upcoming blog series by Sammamish educators; each post will examine a different key element that is making their school's transition to PBL a success.

1. Including Student Voice by Bill Palmer
2. Defining Authenticity in Historical Problem Solving by Rob Hallock
3. Authentic Assessment by Mark Wilbert
4. PBL Course Development: Collaboration Among Colleagues by Jayesh Rao
5. Academic Discourse by Danielle Lynch
6. Expertise by Karissa Stay
7. Culturally Responsive Instruction by Rob Wood

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Additional Resources to Learn More About Project-Based Learning

• Getting Started with PBL

  Discover how project-based learning teaches students to explore real-world problems and challenges. With this type of active and engaged learning, students are inspired to obtain a deeper knowledge of the subjects they're studying.

• PBL Research Review

  Studies have proven that when implemented well, project-based learning (PBL) can increase retention of content and improve students' attitudes towards learning, among other benefits. Edutopia's PBL research review explores the vast body of research on the topic and helps make sense of the results.

• Project-Based Learning Professional Development Guide

  An overview of the Edutopia professional development guide for teaching how to use project-based learning in the classroom.

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